Canadian Musician Ruth B Is Taking America By Storm

If you're even a casual radio listener, it's been pretty hard to avoid Ruth B.

Her song "Lost Boy" was all over the dial this year, reaching #24 in the Billboard Hot 100, #17 in the U.S. Mainstream Top 40, and #14 in the Canadian Top 100.

What listeners might not know: Ruth Berhe is an unassuming 21-year-old Canadian from Edmonton, who started her career by crooning six-second clips on Vine. She sat down to chat about the thrill ride of going from relative anonymity, to being signed by Columbia Records and having one of the hottest songs on the charts.

Chris Taylor: I'm hearing "Lost Boy" all over American radio ... what has this experience been like for you?

Ruth B: It's been really surreal. It's so humbling to know that people are enjoying my song, as simple as it is. I don't think I'll ever get used to it.

CT: Tell me about how you got started, by loading clips on Vine?

RB: Vine came around at a really convenient time in my life. At first I only used it for fun, but eventually I started singing on it. As bizarre as it was, I stared enjoying the whole six-second singing thing.

CT: With "Lost Boy," how did it gain so much traction?

RB: "Lost Boy" initially started off as a Vine. It wasn't a song, just a thought that I had. People really enjoyed that little snippet, and started sharing it around. Eventually it became this big thing where all I would see in my comments was "more Lost Boy!" That was the start of it.

CT: What musicians do you look to for inspiration?

RB: I like a lot of different types of music. I love Lauryn Hill, Ed Sheeran, the Beatles. I'm a big fan of stories. Songs with messages.

CT: When things really took off and labels began calling you, what was that experience like?

RB: It was really cool to start getting feed back from "the music industry." For a student from Edmonton, it was pretty insane. I'd write an exam and then check my emails to find another label reaching out. More than anything it was validating.

CT: What has it been like transitioning to live audiences and shows?

RB: This has been a really cool transition. At first I didn't like it. I had become very comfortable performing for my phone screen but eventually I started to fall in love. There's a certain thrill that comes with watching someone sing back words that you wrote.

CT: How has your heritage influenced you?

RB: I am Ethiopian, and it's a big part of who I am. I love my culture and all its history. My parents did an incredible job of making sure my brother and I grew up understanding where we came from.

CT: When you are away from Canada, what do you miss most about it?

RB: I miss the feeling of home. It's tough being away from friends and family all the time but it's also really nice to always know that they're just a phone call away. I don't think my mom has ever missed any of my calls.

CT: Any other messages for your fans?

RB: Be true to you -- and always be kind.

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Canadian University Bands

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The school: Queen's University
The back story: Four of the five members of the band met in Queen's residence Waldron Tower in 1983, and quickly became beloved around Kingston. In 1985, they did a cross-campus tour, and met Paul Langlois in 1986 to complete the band. (via Canada Live)
You know them for: "New Orleans Is Sinking," "Wheat Kings," and a few dozen other oh-so-Canadian songs

The school: Queen's University
The back story: They lived across the hall from each other in residence, and a few months later, discovered they all played different instruments. They began to jam together, and the rest was history.
You know them for: "When The Night Feels My Song"

The school: Collège Stanislas (a private elementary and high school in Montreal)
The back story: The two met in the mid-1990s when they were teens, and continued to work together while going to school in their hometown of Montreal — David Macklovitch (left) to McGill, and Patrick Gemayel, who pursued an accounting degree
You know them for: "Jealous," "Fancy Footwork"

The school: McMaster University
The back story: Four of the five original members of the band met — one after the other — during orientation week in 2004, they explained to McMaster Daily News. Soon, they started playing local clubs in Hamilton.
You know them for: Ballad of Hugo Chavez", "Oh, The Boss is Coming!", "Come to Light", and "Leather Jacket".

The school: Etobicoke School of the Arts (a high school in Toronto)
The back story: While there are many, many members of Broken Social Scene, some of the most high profile met back in high school — namely frontman Kevin Drew, Emily Haines (best known for Metric) and Amy Millan (best known for Stars). "Emily asked me in the first week of school to come into the practice rooms and sing harmonies with her. I learned to sing from her," Amy told Flare in 2013.
You know them for: "Anthems For A Seventeen Year Old Girl," "7/4 Shoreline," and the many offshoots of the band
(Note: Oakwood Collegiate Institute is where many other members of the collective found each other, including James Shaw, Evan Cranley, Torquil Campbell and Chris Seligman.)

The school: Queen's University
The back story: She played her first shows at open mic nights at Clark Hall Pub and the Grad Club (just like her brother, Matthew Barber), and her songs are now everywhere, including the "Orange Is The New Black" soundtrack
You know her for: "Don't Go Easy," "Chances"

The school: Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
The back story: The band had its first gig in the school cafeteria, (via NSCAD) in February, 1991.
You know them for: "The Rest Of My Life," "The Other Man"

The school: University of Toronto
The back story: A child prodigy with the violin, Pallett studied music at U of T and wrote two operas during his time there (he graduated in 2002). He's also amazingly connected within the Toronto music scene (and beyond), having played with everyone from Arcade Fire to Great Lake Swimmers to Snow Patrol.
You know him for: "The Riverbed," Final Fantasy

The school: Queen's University
The back story: Though Harmer was a member of Toronto band The Saddletramps while at Queen's, she quit to focus on her education — and then started writing her own songs and formed a band, Weeping Tile, with fellow Kingston musicians. (via The Canadian Encyclopedia)
You know her for: "Basement Apartment," "Don't Get Your Back Up"

The school: Simon Fraser University
The back story: Good's original folk band, the Rodchester Kings, was discovered at an open mic night at the university in 1992. While they had some early success, that band split up, and a new group (that would become famous) formed in 1995.
You know him for: "Load Me Up," "Apparitions"

The school: Queen's University
The back story: Mark Makoway (guitars) and Jeff Pearce (bass) first met at Queen's University while studying film; they then moved to Vancouver and hooked up with (Kingston natives) David Usher and Kevin Young to form Moist, along with Paul Wilcox.
You know them for: "Push," "Breathe," "Silver"

The school: Memorial University of Newfoundland
The back story: All four original members of the band got arts degrees from Memorial. Alan Doyle started by playing solo gigs around the campus and eventually in 1993, hooked up with the rest of the band.
You know them for: "Ordinary Day," "When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down)"

The school: McGill University
The back story: The group, all from Montreal, came together in a variety of ways, but frontman Sam Roberts and bassist James Hall both attended the university, and, Roberts say, it informed plenty of their work. “The sheer number of books and creative information coming and going was definitely feeding directly into what I was writing about," he told the school's alumni publication.
You know them for: "Bridge to Nowhere," "Where Have All The Good People Gone?"

The school: Queen's University
The back story: Though band members Mike O'Neill and Dave Ullrich grew up together in Oshawa, they didn't form a band (and call it The Inbreds) until they went to university together in Kingston in the early '90s (via Frizzballs)
You know them for: "Any Sense of Time," "North Window"

The school: Concordia University
The back story: Régine Chassagne, Richard Reed Parry and original member Sarah Neufeld all went to Concordia — lead vocalist Win Butler went to McGill, so he met now-wife Chassagne while in Montreal. It was there they all started playing together.
You know them for: "Reflektor," "Wake Up," "The Suburbs"
Photo courtesy of Fro Knows Photo

The school: McGill University
The back story: Kid Koala (Eric San) was DJing from a young age, but as he told Exclaim, "Montreal was a very nurturing environment for me." He would play at Gert's, the campus pub, and hand out samples of his music to fellow students.
You know him for: "Third World Lover," "'8 Bit Blues"

The school: Saint Mary's University
The back story: While at the school in Halifax, the artist (whose real name is Rich Terfry) started getting attention for his hip hop tunes.
You know him for: "Wicked And Weird," "Heart of Stone,"

The school: Laval University
The back story: While at school, the band won first place in a Montreal radio station's competition, leading to the release of their first album in 1993.
You know them for: "Ma vie à l'heure," "Amalgame"